The New York Times brought in 2016 by covering The Trainor Law Firm’s successful legal representation of nationally renowned Hip Hop website “OnSmash.com.” After a five-year legal battle with the United States government, in which OnSmash’s counsel, attorney Craig Trainor, submitted a substantial memorandum of law to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arguing that the government’s seizure of the domain name OnSmash.com was unlawful under Federal law and violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, the government agreed and released the website back to OnSmash. The New York Times stated that, “In March 2012, Craig Trainor, Mr. Hofman’s lawyer, submitted a 66-page memorandum of law outlining their case. Rather than a rogue site that hurt music labels, Mr. Trainor argued, OnSmash was ‘an indispensable forum for hip-hop fans, a marketing vehicle for record labels and artists, and a generator of protected speech.’” SeeBen Sisario, 5 Years and $7 Later, U.S. Returns a Seized Hip-Hop Site, N.Y. Times, Jan. 1, 2016, available at

Continuing the fight to defend the civil rights of all New Yorkers, Craig Trainor is representing fellow Brooklynites in a federal lawsuit against NYPD officers for egregious police misconduct. The Brooklyn Paper sought Mr. Trainor’s reaction to the NYPD’s complete disregard for the Fourth Amendment’s guarantee that “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated . . . .” U.S. Const. amend. IV. This right secures our liberty against arbitrary government intrusion upon the most sacred of American institutions – the home. ThePaper quoted Craig Trainor as saying that, “The NYPD did violence to this constitutional principle on September 3, 2013, when its officers ‘barged’ into Debra Russo’s home without any legal justification whatsoever. What is more, these officers greatly exacerbated this constitutional abomination by applying plainly unreasonable and excessive force against Sonni and Debra and subsequently falsely arresting them on baseless charges of resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration.” See Colin Mixson, Alleged cash-machine bandit busted again, Brooklyn Paper, Sept. 19, 2013, available at

The New York Postcovered an extraordinarily novel federal lawsuit that The Trainor Law Firm brought in 2012 on behalf of Brooklyn music venue “CoCo66.” The Post quoted Craig Trainor as saying that, “There is no provision in New York’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Law . . . that allows for the wholesale destruction of private property, without notice.’” SeeTim Perone, Cops raided the wrong B’klyn bar, dumped booze: owner, N.Y. Post, Aug. 16, 2012, available at

The international news agency Reuters profiled the Coco66 lawsuit and quoted Craig Trainor as saying that, “Frankly, it is hard for any reasonable person to fathom that, in 2011, a high-level NYPD ranking officer would order his subordinate police officers to destroy lawful private property in this way.” See Jonathan Allen, Brooklyn bar owner accuses police of draining his liquor stock, Reuters, Aug. 16, 2012, available at

TheRaw Story extensively quoted Craig Trainor in its article about the January 18, 2012, web-based boycott of proposed anti-piracy legislation. Along with Wikipedia and numerous other sites, FreeOnSmash.com joined the boycott and went dark for the day to protest this ill-conceived legislation. See Andrew Jones, Censored hip-hop blog demands justice, joins anti-piracy boycott, Raw Story, Jan. 19, 2012, available at

Craig Trainor and his client, Kevin Hofman, founder of OnSmash.com, sat down with The New York Times to discuss the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s unprecedented seizure of OnSmash.com’s domain on Thanksgiving, 2010. SeeBen Sisario, Piracy Fight Shuts Down Music Blogs, N.Y. Times, Dec. 13, 2010, available at

Mr. Trainor has a unique set of skills and experience that position him for success in your case

FORMER LAW CLERK TO A FEDERAL JUDGE

Attorneys understand that a federal judge clerkship is a highly sought-after position. Mr. Trainor has used this experience to inform his work on behalf of those accused of crimes or harmed by police brutality and misconduct. The federal clerkship gave Mr. Trainor a keen understanding of how to build a winning case in federal court. He understands court procedures inside out and knows what types of arguments and evidence are persuasive.

FORMER NEW YORK CITY PROSECUTOR

Mr. Trainor prosecuted hundreds of cases against people accused of crimes ranging from assault to identity theft to shoplifting to drug dealing. His criminal defense clients benefit from the insider’s perspective he gained in this position.

Federal and State Investigations

Mr. Trainor spent three years focusing exclusively on defense of sophisticated white collar crimes, from public corruption to securities fraud. White collar criminal cases are highly complex and technically challenging. All of Mr. Trainor’s clients benefit from the depth of knowledge he has in financial crimes, investigation, and the use of experts in case development.

New York, New York

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